Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

That's Okay

That's okay. I'm sort of notorious bomb thrower myself. Sometimes I just have to stir the pot to see what bubbles up.

By Any Mouse

Portables, Bus Depot, etc.

From the Facility Review Committee report: ''Portables currently cost about $65,000 each, including installation.'' When existing portables are moved, there are costs associated with the moving, electrical wiring, building ramps, etc. Certainly, a lease/buy evaluation should be done before obtaining more portables. And, yes, that would be an interesting study as to the cost of classroom space of portables vs. a permanent structure. The report also stated that portable classrooms are typically 650 sq. ft. vs. 900 sq. ft. for a typical elementary classroom (not sure if this figure is for schools the vintage of Heritage, Tussing, or new guidelines from OSFC).

Regarding the bus ''depot'' at Central, it's certainly a money saver compared to the previous location near Pataskala. I understand that a new, permanent location will be built near Lakeview (by the end of 2006?). The Central location is just temporary. And yes, there is space at Central being used by Petermann (for an employee lounge, maintenance/spare parts, etc.). And yes, Petermann is paying the district for this space. While I agree it's probably easier to manage all the busses/employees from a central site, I did hear that some of the busses may be moving to North with good weather approaching.

As far as school size goes, I agree that a large school would be more economical than multiple smaller ones. All common areas (gym, media center, bathrooms, cafeteria) and rooms for specials (music, art, special needs, tutoring, etc.) would need to be sized for the intended population size. Larger schools would necessitate larger staffs. Beyond the number of teachers per classroom, secretarial support, nurses, Principals/Deans, counselors, maintenance, cafeteria workers, etc., would all have to be ''sized'' to be appropriate for the number of students. Still I should think staffing, heating and maintaining (inside and out) a larger school might still be less expensive than 2 smaller schools. But, a study could be done to verify that one way or another.

Some have suggested larger schools with pods or wings to separate the students into basically 2 schools on one campus. The two wings could share cafeteria and gym space but otherwise, interaction could be kept to a minimum. This might be an idea if two different grade configurations were put at the same school. The FRC suggested this concept for a combined middle and Jr. High school as neither grade level req'd a new, full school in the near future, but a 1/2 school would be necessary for each soon (based on growth projections that were available at the time).

However, there are plenty of teachers that would argue that there is an optimal size for schools (perhaps under 700). I understand there are studies that support almost any size of school. Perhaps the PEA could provide some insight as to why they object to larger schools. I do know that schools, in which team teaching occurs, have optimal student populations based on the number of teams there. Just some things to consider in an evaluation.

Growth projections need to be re-reviewed. The recent slow down in growth (this last year) should be incorporated into growth projections. Not sure what the overall impact will be on the need for new elementaries, middle schools & Jr. High. That is, there's obviously a need for more classroom space now, at the elementary and middle school levels. But how many classrooms, and therefore, how many new schools, how many years out, needs to be reassessed (from when the FRC did its evaluation, based on data that existed at the time). Building permits are only one factor input into growth projections.

You all need professional help

You all seem to be lost in the woods in the middle of a cold spell. Get professional help now. It is very clear that none of you know what you are talking about and none of you can stay on point for more than one or two postings.

I do not care if it costs $50,000 to hire a professional survey person to make calls and get the real pulse of the community and what the community will or will not support. It is time to go around all of you amateurs. Away from the personal insults and the so called experts that regularly make their suggestions here that make so sense what so ever. Why spend the money to promote a campaign and pay to put it on the ballot for a special election just to see it fail by 2 to 1?

Hell!! I could conduct a survey better that what I have seen here on this site with all of these Einsteins. The school board site is no better. We got mothers getting offended at comments totally unrelated to the subject at hand and then there are the bomb throwers that just want to be disruptive.

Wake up folks and get professional help NOW!!

By Pragmatic

North vs. Central

It would be worthwhile if someone would identify, specifically, all the respects in which they believe that Central falls short of North, and also indicates what they think we should do about these discrepancies. Rather than blame people for past misdeeds, let's look forward.